Client Avoids Prison for Assault and Criminal Damage

Case study summary

Our client assaulted a shop owner and caused damage in the store. He was vulnerable and we explored this further by speaking to his relatives who confirmed that he had autism. This provided some context for his offending. We persuaded the court not to send him to prison.

Case study

Our client was 24-years-old. He was charged with criminal damage and common assault. The prosecution's case was that he had stolen an Xbox controller. He returned to the store to apologise, but the store owner locked the doors whilst he called the police. Our client reacted by throwing a basket full of toys at him.

We represented our client at the police station and he asked us to continue representing him for his court case. We carefully analysed the case papers with our client. He admitted the charges and explained that his Xbox controller had broken but he did not have enough money to pay for a new one.

It was clear that our client had learning difficulties and was struggling with his mental health. We spoke to those closest to him to obtain more information about this. His support worker and brother confirmed that he had autism and helped us to obtain confirmation of this. They were also concerned that his mental health had deteriorated in recent months and he was being assessed for other mental health conditions. Our client accepted that his autism was not an excuse for his behaviour but this information would help us to provide some context to the court.

We represented our client at the Magistrates' Court. He had previously spent time in prison for a previous assault and the thought of being sent back there scared him. We reassured him that we would do everything we could to persuade the court not to impose a prison sentence. We were successful in our efforts and our client received a 12-month community order. He was extremely relieved and looked forward to receiving support from the probation services.